Lampedusa under ongoing pressure from migrant arrivals

(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 19 - Reception capacity on Lampedusa was under strain again following the arrival by sea of around 400 migrants and refugees travelling in a total of 12 boats on Wednesday.
    The new arrivals included 97 people rescued by the NGO rescue sail boat Nadir from three boats in distress that had departed from Tunisia.
    As of 7 am local time there were 2,996 people in the hotspot in Contrada Imbriacola against an official capacity of around 400.
    Two groups of 180 people each were due to be transferred off the island later in the day, respectively by charter plane and passenger ferry.
    Meanwhile the president of the Lampedusa fishermen's consortium and former mayor Salvatore Martello announced a state of agitation starting Wednesday in relation to the use of the local passenger ferry service linking Lampedusa to Porto Empedocle in mainland Sicily for migrant transfers.
    "It is clear that the two ships that connect the Pelagie islands with the rest of Sicily have become taxis for migrants and can no longer guarantee the regular transport of our catch and of Lampedusan passengers," said Martello, announcing a meeting of all the island's fishermen to organise a strike.
    "We intend to ask the president of the region (Governor Renato Schifani) for a ship dedicated to the population, fishermen and also tourists," he added.
    Lampedusa is Italy's southernmost island and the point of arrival for many migrants and refugees making the dangerous Mediterranean sea crossing from Libya and Tunisia in the search for safety and a better life in Europe. (ANSA).